Ditching-machine.



J. EQ PUNK.

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31a/vanto@ John E. Funk J. E. FUNK.

DITGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1l 1912.

Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

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COLur/.Blt PLANcGRAPH C0..wAsHlNGToN, D. c.

JOHN E. FUNK,v 0F MOORLANID, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0.

i TUBING COMPANY, OF STGCKTON, CALIFQRNIA,

PROGRESSIVE MANUFACP A CORPORATION.

DITCHIN G-MACHEN E.

Specification of Letters'atent. Application inea April 1,

Patented Sept. 16, i913. 1912. Serial No. 687,907;

To` all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN E. FUNK, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Moorland, in the county of San Joaquin,l g

State of California, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements 1n Dltching- Machines; and I do declare. the following to l be a clear, full, and exact description of the same such as will enable others skilled in the art to `whichit appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and te.y the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

`This invention relates to. improvements.` in ditching machines of all kinds but more particu-larly to. a ditching machine `adapted for use in any light and soft soils such as delta lands which contain peat or similar sedi-- ment deposits, the object 0f the invention being to produce such a ditcher as will handle such light soils in a' rapid and elfective manner. The great difliculty heretofore encountered in producinga ditching machine tohandle such light soils hasy been that it is impossible to handle the same by meansv now commonly employed, namely that of conveying the dirt upwardly by ordinary conveyers calculated to discharge such from the machines-by gravity., This difficulty is occasioned by the fact that. the soil is so light that it will not remain in the Y Y nary conveyers.

conveyer but will `float. awayin the ai-r or with the breeze and it is solight that. 1t will not-dump itself by gravity fromr the ordi- My device is particularly designed to cut the dirtin-a rapid and eitective action in a manner similar to a Saw cutting through wood, this operation beingedectedby'means of an endless chain having teeth which will cut t-hrough the ground rapid-ly carrying the dirtv on its under side `and throw the same intoa Vconveyer which will discharge at the sides of the ditch. g

A further object of the invention Ais to produce a simple a-ndinexpensive device and yet one whichl will be exceedingly effective for the purposesfor which 1t is. designed. i

These, objects, I accomplishby means of such structure and@ relative arrangement of the parts as will fully appear A'by a perusal of the following specication and claims.

In the drawings similar characters` of ref-` l erence indicate several' views. Figure l is a side elevation of the comi plete device. Fig; 2 is a top plan view of lfthe same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a cutting conveyer frame supporting means.

Referring' now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral' l designates a main supporting frame mounted' on which are auxiliary cross beams 2 supported' on which are f'urther beams 3 to which is secured an engine or other motive power l, which engine drives a main shaft 5 having on its outer end a beveled gear 6, there being `a suitable clutch 7 interposed between the engine 4 and said Igear 6. whereby such engine `may be conneoted and disconnected from the operating mechanism of the ditcher. The beveled gear 6 intermeshes with another beveled'l` gear 8 secured ona sha-ft 9` journaled' on the beams 8a, supported upwardly from the beams 3d which are secured to the under side of the beams2 by means of brackets 3b there being two sprocket gears` l0 disposed on said shaft 9 at each end; One of' said gears 10 is connected by a chain l1 with another sprocket gear l2 on a sleeve 13' mounted on a shaft let journaled on the beams 3a, which sleeve 13. is4 provided with a pinion l5 on its outer end interlneshing with another pinion 16 mounted on a shaft lZ jyournaled on the frameV l and driving a sprocket gear 17a connectedA by a chain 18 with a sprocket gear 19 secured cna wheel 20- on `which wheel 20 is mounted" the frame l. The other wheel 10 is connected by a chain 21 with a sprocket wheel 22; securedv on the shaft 14. There is another pinion 23. similar to the pinion 15 which pinion intermeshes with another pinion 24 onthe shaft 17, there being a sprocket gear 25 on said shaft 1T on theouter end connected by a chain 26 with a sprocket gear 27 secured on a wheel 2S similar to the wheel 20 which supports the other side of the frame l.

The numeral 3d designates two beams corresponding parts in the` spaced apart and secured to the under side of beams 2 as described and to another cross beam 2a.

Secured on the outer members 3d is a hanger 29 pivotally mounted on the lower end of which, as at 30, is a Y-shaped supporting frame consisting of a lower portion 30a having a pin 31 and upper projecting branches 32, each of said branches 32 having a horizontally disposed arm 33 provided vwith an inwardly projecting flange 34. Slidably mounted over each of the members 33 is a bar 35 having an inwardly projecting flange 36, there being a set screw 37 disposed through each flange 36 and against each flange 34. Projecting through the hangers 29 and the members 33 and 35 is the shaft 30 which supports an inclosed box 38, there being a gear 39 secured centrally on said shaft 30 within the box 38. The members 32 project through the sides of the box 38 as shown in Fig. 1 and on the pin 31 is a gear 40.

The numeral 41 designates a chain projecting over the gears 39 and 40 and provided with outwardly projecting metal fianges or teeth 42 which, as the chain 41 revolves, as will be hereinafter described, work against the earth surface 43 of the ditch in a rapid and effective manner and throw the dirt up intothe box 38 where it is then carried and thrown into an auger conveyer 44 in a box 45 communicating with the box 38 as shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 30 is driven by means of a chain 46L connected with a gear 47 on the shaft 30, and with a gear 46 on the shaft 9, such gear 47 being mounted on a sleeve 48 having a clutch 49 whereby by means of a lever 50 the same may be connected or disconnected with the driving shaft 9 when it is desired to operate the chain 40. y Thev auger conveyer 44 is driven by means of a gear 51 mounted on the shaft 14 and connected by a chain 52 with a gear 53 on the shaft 54 of said auger conveyer 44. At this point it might be well to state that the conveyer 44 may or may not be an auger conveyer, a draper conveyer or any other kind or character desired.

In order to raise or lower the box 38 and its accompanying paris, I provide a link 55 connected with another link 56 which in turn lis connectedto a lever 57 Vby the opera,- tion' of which lever 57 the box 38 and its accompanying parts may be raised or lowered according to the depth of the ditch desired or this structure may be used to enf tirely raise the box 38 and connected parts. In practice the box 38 is adapted to end at the'top of the ground while the members 30 edges of each 0f the and their connected parts project into the ditch as shown in Fig. 1.

To tighten the chain 40 the set screws 37 are operated which drives the members 33 through the members 35 to any fixed position and then this xed position is set by means of bolts 58. (See Fig. 3.) For this purpose the members 35 are fixed stationary on the shaft 30 while the members 33 have slots 59 to enable them to move over said shaft 30 for the purpose, as described.

In the under edges of the box 38 are shoes 60 adapted to cut in the edges of the ditch as the machine proceeds them from caving in.

Projecting down over the lower edge of the chain 4 and its teeth 42 is a hood 61 to keep the dirt inclosed within the operating space of the saw like construction while the numeral 62 designates a block secured to the hood 61 and adapted to drag along the bottom of the ditch in order to'keep all the loose dirt directly in the path of the teeth 42. In conjunction with and to laid this operation, I provide on each side of each wheel a sled or runner 65 suitably connected tothe main frame ofthe device by means of brackets 66. These sleds form a tray into which the dirt is emptied by the Aconveyers Iand the wheels then roll directly sides of the ditch.' "Ihe particular object gained by this is that the soil of delta lands is so very light that if left in piles or levees on either side of the ditch it would have a tendency to fly back and linto Vthe ditch, but by means of this packing action just described this difliculty is overcome since as the dirt is passed out on the sides of the ditch by the conveyer 44 it is discharged directly infront of :the wheels 2O 'and 28 which roll the same down and prevent any sides piling up on the sides of the ditch aS set forth. Y

The front end of the machine is supported by a steering means63 havingA a steering wheel 64, the construction of each of Asaid lastmentioned parts being of an ordinary type, hence no specific claim made at this time. V

.Whenever desired the saw/like cutting structure and conveyers hereinafter described may be removed and the balance of the structure used as ajfarm tractor as will already appear. A

From theiforegoing description it will-be in order to prevent over it as described Vand pack the same into vthe soil on the to the same isV readilypseen that I have produced such a de i vice as substantially` fulfils the objects of the invention as set forthherein. `Ilhile `this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in .practicesuch deviations from i i to as do not form a'` departure from the spirit of the invention. j .i i

I-Iaving thus described my invention what I claim as newV and useful and Vdesire to securejby Letters Patent is `V 1. A device of the character described such structure maybe resorted isoV comprising a wheel mounted frame, a motive power on said frame, a box suspended from said frame, a shaft projecting through the upper end of saidbox7 means for driving said shaft with said motive power, a sprocket wheel disposed on said shaft within said boX, a frame adjustable along the side of said box and projecting below the lower end of said box, asprocket wheel mounted in the lower end of said frame, a chain connecting j said sprocket wheels, a `cutting means mounted on said chain, and a conveyer upon which said cutting means dis--A charges, as described.

2. A device of theA character described comprisin the combination of af wheel mounted a1ne,` a motive means carried by said frame, a box exibly mounted on said ,iframe and carrying a conveyer, means for driving said conveyer, with said.. motive means and a shoe disposedon each side of `form a trough into which said said box, such box being adapted to ride along the surface of the ground and said shoes being adapted to out into the earths surface below the line of said box, as described.

3. A device of the character described comprising a wheel mounted frame, a cutting means mounted on said frame, a conveyer upon which said cutting means discharges, such conveyer discharging directly in front of the wheels of said frame and runners disposed on each side of each wheel to conveyer discharges, as described.

In testimony whereof I aHiX in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. FUNK.

my signature Vitnesses:

J osHUA R. WEBSTER, PERGY S. WEBSTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained (for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

